Blossoms lead the return of live music with pilot show at Sefton Park
Blossoms and Co. take to the stage at Sefton Park in a momentous and emotional return for live music.
Photo: Yoshitaka Kono
“You’re going to have the best night you’ve had for a very, very long time.”
For musicians, one of the hardest parts of the whole Covid-19 crisis has been the suspension of live gigs and large events, with many bands and artists relying on touring as their main source of income. Fans have also been hit hard, having missed out on over a year of concerts and not knowing when they will next go ahead.
However, that all changed on Sunday when 5000 residents of Liverpool were allowed to attend the first non-socially-distanced gig in the UK since March 2020 as part of the government’s events research programme. Ticket holders were required to take a Covid test the day before the concert, with proof of a negative result being mandatory upon entry, along with proof of a Liverpool address (for students like myself, a valid university ID was allowed if proof of a term-time address couldn’t be found).
As soon as I got through the gate, everything around me felt surreal, yet incredibly exciting; with people running about without masks, hugging strangers and queuing for overpriced drinks, it felt like I’d stepped into some sort of parallel universe where the pandemic had never existed.
Photo: Christopher Furlong
A DJ set by Katie Owen opened the event, with the crowd dancing and singing to every song with gusto. This was followed by a slot from Liverpool-based singer-songwriter Zuzu, who entertained the crowd with 30 minutes of her Britpop-meets-Merseybeat indie.
This was followed by Wigan outfit The Lathums, whose set was filled with energy and emotion. I just couldn’t get over the sight of a band on stage, with mosh pits breaking out all around; it was something I could’ve only dreamed of a few months ago.
However, it was, of course, headlining act Blossoms who truly stole the show. The crowd was instantly engaged as the band took to the stage, with frontman Tom Ogden declaring to the audience that they were in for “the best night you’ve had for a very, very long time.” Opening with the 2019 single Your Girlfriend, I thought that there might be quite a lot of people at the gig who were there more for the event itself than the band but, to my surprise, most of the crowd seemed to be enthusiastically singing along to the band’s set, as well as just enjoying the atmosphere as a whole.
Photo: PA Wire
Around halfway through the set, the band performed a cover of The Beatles’ Paperback Writer, a nod to the location of the gig. There was also a snippet of Blue Monday at the end of Between The Eyes, as well as the band’s usual mini-covers of Babybird’s You’re Gorgeous and Oasis’ Half the World Away at the end of a very emotional rendition of debut album track My Favourite Room.
The night was drawn to a close roughly around 10pm, just after a shimmering performance of the band’s biggest single Charlemagne saw the end of a momentous show. Having seen Blossoms live quite a few times, it’s safe to say this was — without a doubt — one of their best gigs yet, not just due to the overall atmosphere, but musically as well. It was great to see some of the tunes off 2020’s Foolish Loving Spaces live as well, especially since the band had to cancel most of their tour dates last year due to pandemic related restrictions.
Photo: Ben Bentley
The full outcome of the event won’t be known until all the relevant data has been processed, however, from a fan point of view, the gig was a brilliant success. A day of freedom and excellent music was definitely worth the entry process in my opinion, and I would be happy for this format of event to be the blueprint for the short term if it means a return to live music and large gatherings. Hopefully, the Sefton Park pilot will help to make such events safe again and will take us a step closer to a more normal world.
